The Salina South Cougars split their double-header at Newton on Friday night, with the girls earing a 36-30 OT win, and the boys dropping a tough loss 66-56.

GIRLS: Salina South , Newton 30 (OT)

A defensive battle broke out last night inside of Ravenscroft Gym in Newton, with neither team able to find much rhythm.

Newton posted a 10-8 lead at the end of the first, but Salina South’s defense allowed them a halftime lead, holding the Railers to just two points in the second quarter. However; Newton would rally, scoring 12 points in the third quarter, matching their output of the entire first half.

Entering the fourth quarter tied at 24, Newton would take a 28-24 lead with 3 minutes to play. Despite it being a mere two-possession game, the lack of offense for South in the second half made the deficit appear like a mountain.

The Cougars kept their composure though, getting a massive bucket from Macy Yost, her only of the game, to get within two with a minute to play, and the Cougars would fight and claw through multiple scoreless possessions by each team in the final 60 seconds, allowing Freshman Paityn Fritz to hit a turnaround hook shot off the glass in the final seconds to force overtime.

That bucket seemed to catapult South ahead mentally, where they took over the overtime period, outscoring Newton 8-2 to secure a 36-30 overtime win. The victory was the second-straight win for South on the season, bringing their record to 3-4 overall.

Senior Elena Herbel lead South in scoring with 13, and Fritz added 12.

Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game: Elena Herbel

H&R Block of the Game: Paityn Fritz

BOX SCORE

Salina South – 8 – 9 – 7 – 4 – 8 / 36

Newton – 10 – 2 – 12 – 4 – 2 / 30

BOYS: Newton 66, Salina South 56

Salina South jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on Newton Friday night, but after an early Railers timeout, momentum shifted, tilting toward the Railers on their home floor.

South would hold a 15-13 lead after the first quarter, but Newton would outscore Salina South by 12 the rest of the game. The Railers lead by as many as 16 on the night, late in the third quarter, but South would not quit.

The Cougars went on a 4th quarter rally, getting within as few as 6, and had an opportunity to cut the lead to just four with a steal by Quevon Purucker, but a missed layup on the other end turned into a Newton rebound and a basket on the other end, pushing the lead back to 8 and seemingly ending the comeback attempt.

The Cougars got a great performance out of Sophomore Jace Humphrey, scoring 19 points on the night. Purucker added 17, and Layson Sajdak scored 12 for the Cougars.

Newton was paced by 22 points from Camden Carr in the win.

The loss drops South to 0-7 on the season.

Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game: Jace Humphrey

H&R Block of the Game: Talen Slater

BOX SCORE

Salina South – 15 – 9 – 9 – 23 / 56

Newton – 13 – 16 – 15 – 22 / 66

Salina South will be back on the road on Tuesday, playing at Haysville-Campus. Coverage will begin on Y 93.7 FM at 5:45 PM, with the girls tip set for 6 and the boys to follow.